Automotive engines are provided with radiators through which the engine coolant is pumped to cool it after it has absorbed heat from the engine. In most cases, these radiators comprise an array of cooling fins through which coolant tubes extend and that are located at the front of a vehicle. Thus, wind passing through the cooling fins of the radiator efficiently cools the liquid coolant as it passes through the coolant tubes. In addition, radiators are also provided with a reservoir for holding engine coolant. The reservoir, in turn, is provided with a mouth assembly through which coolant can be added to the system. In general, the mouth assembly of a radiator has a generally tubular configuration with an open top end through which coolant can be added to the reservoir. The open top end is configured to receive a sealing cap to close the mouth and seal off the radiator reservoir. The radiator cap is provided with a spring biased gasket that can be overcome when pressure within the reservoir rises above a predetermined level to allow excess pressure and coolant to escape from the reservoir. The spring biased gasket also allows excess water to escape from the reservoir as the water is heated and expanded in volume during normal operation of the engine.
In recent years, radiator mouth assemblies in vehicles have been provided with overflow tube nipples that project outwardly from the tubular body of the mouth assembly. These overflow tube nipples, in turn, are coupled to one end of a flexible overflow hose, which communicates at its other end with an ancillary reservoir within the engine compartment. When coolant escapes from the radiator reservoir as it is heated and expands, it is delivered through the overflow tube nipple and the flexible overflow hose into the ancillary reservoir. When the engine is shut off and the coolant cools and contracts, it is drawn from the ancillary reservoir back through the overflow tube, and into the radiator. In this way, the coolant is not lost from the system and can be drawn back into the radiator as needed.
In the last few years, radiator reservoirs and their mouth assemblies have been formed of molded plastic rather than copper, brass, or other metals that were previously used. The molded plastic is more economical than metal and does not have to be soldered at critical joints as with metal. Accordingly, the molded plastic reservoirs are more reliable than the old metal reservoirs.
One problem with molded plastic radiator reservoirs and their plastic mouth assemblies has been related to the overflow tube nipple that projects outwardly from the tubular body of the mouth assembly and receives an end of the overflow hose. With these plastic mouth assemblies, it is not uncommon for the overflow nipples to become brittle and to be broken-off during normal maintenance procedures on the engine. Once broken-off, the overflow tube nipple will not receive the end of the overflow hose in a sealing manner and coolant can leak from the system. In the past, when an overflow tube nipple was broken-off in this manner, the entire radiator reservoir and its mouth assembly had to be replaced since they are all molded as a unitary plastic element. Obviously, such replacement is time consuming and expensive and results in unexpected repair cost when an overflow tube nipple is accidentally broken-off.
Breakage of overflow nipples of plastic radiator mouth assemblies is also common fabrication facilities where plastic radiator reservoirs are injection molded and in assembly plants where they are assembled with other components to build a radiator. When breakage occurs in such facilities, it has been the practice simply to discard the entire plastic reservoir, which is ground up with other discarded plastic pieces and reused in injection molds. Obviously, the discarding and reuse of radiator reservoirs simply because their overflow nipples are broken off is a wasteful and expensive process.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a method of repairing the broken-off overflow tube nipple of a plastic radiator mouth assembly without the necessity of removing and replacing the entire radiator reservoir and in such a way as to avoid the discarding of broken reservoirs in fabrication and assembly plants. It is to the provision of such a method and to a kit for performing the method that the present invention is primarily directed.